


Radish Seeds

by aj_linguistik



Series: October Prompt Challenge [24]
Category: Fruits Basket (Anime 2019)
Genre: F/M, Gardens & Gardening, Gift Giving, Honda Tohru is a Ray of Sunshine, October Prompt Challenge, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:27:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27178540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aj_linguistik/pseuds/aj_linguistik
Summary: It's not that significant of a gift, but it means the world to him. If only Tohru understood what value her kindness had to him, then maybe he'd be able to learn how to give others the same thing.
Relationships: Honda Tohru/Sohma Yuki
Series: October Prompt Challenge [24]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949194
Kudos: 11





	Radish Seeds

**Author's Note:**

  * For [disasterbiKirito](https://archiveofourown.org/users/disasterbiKirito/gifts).



> A/N: Day 24, had to wrap up early if possible because today we might be carving pumpkins!! Yaaay! Today's prompt was gardening, and babe wanted Yuki and Tohru! After a few different Furuba prompts he's given, I am only more convinced that Tohru is a sunshine baby who can do no wrong. This hopefully feels sunny just like her!

Feeling kindness when it’s unfamiliar can be such a strange and overwhelming feeling. Yuki had grown accustomed to the coldness of the world. As he had eventually succumbed to the uncaring, unloving world around him, that coldness was suddenly, and without logic, being invaded by this inexplicable warmth. That was the confusing feeling that faced him as Tohru stood across from him, arms outstretched to hand him a present. In her hands was a packet of seeds. It was a simple, fairly innocent sort of gift. He liked to garden, and she wanted to present him with a gift that fit that interest. He shouldn’t feel so overwhelmed by a simple packet of seeds.

Yet that unspectacular gesture was enough to fill his chest with warmth and cause his heart to stir. Something about the way she smiled as she held out the seeds to him, freely giving him something that she knew he would care about, made him clutch the fabric of his shirt over his heart. There was a tightness in his chest that he couldn’t explain, and his eyes threatened to well up with tears. He had to keep his cool, but her gentle lovingkindness was powerful and all-encompassing. He couldn’t escape his feelings forever, and he knew that. As he reached out to accept the gift, he gave her a smile in return, wishing that he could return that wonderful emotion as he did. She beamed even brighter as he accepted the seeds.

“I hope you really like radishes!” Tohru said, suddenly acting very flustered. “I-I didn’t even think about whether or not everyone would eat radishes!”

He couldn’t help but laugh as she rambled on, verbally pronouncing that she was worried about the preferences of the household. As usual, Tohru was always worried about everyone but herself. She wouldn’t rest until she made sure that she’d satisfied everyone, even if achieving that was absolutely impossible. She stopped mumbling when she realized that he was laughing, and he had to hurriedly offer an apology.

“I’m sorry, Honda,” he said. “Yes, I do like radishes. If you like, we can go ahead and clear a spot to plant them in after school.”

Her eyes lit up like diamonds being touched by sunlight. Could anyone else become so excited at the notion of planting a few seeds? She truly was like sunshine. She clasped her hands together over her chest and let out an excited squeal.

“I’d love to, Sohma!” she said.

He’d be done with his student council duties soon enough. He couldn’t wait for them to be over with. The chaotic nature of dealing with Kakeru felt like nothing as he sat through the session doing his daily quota. As he walked around the school, making his rounds to check on everyone, he couldn’t help but feel a bit lighter than usual. Kakeru leaned over and elbowed him in the side, giving him a cheesy grin.

“Did you finally ask her out?” he asked.

Yuki assumed his best poker face.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.

He stopped and started talking to the president of the gardening club. He shared a few compliments and told her that he was going home to plant some vegetable seeds when he got home. When he turned back around, Kakeru was shaking his head and dramatically sighing. Yuki sighed and kept walking. It would be over soon, and he’d be able to go home and work in the garden with Tohru. He focused on that instead of on the words coming out of his fellow council member’s mouth.

“Ahhh, you know what I mean, Yun-Yun!” he said. “That Honda girl. It’s obvious how you feel, so clearly she said yes when you confessed your love to her! Otherwise, you wouldn’t be in such a good mood!”

Yuki forced a smile and turned to Kakeru.

“If you don’t stop talking that good mood might disappear,” he warned.

Kakeru just laughed.

“You totally asked her out,” he said. “You might not admit it, but I know. I know that look on your face has to do with her. You can’t convince me otherwise!”

Yuki sighed and shook his head. Kakeru would believe whatever Kakeru wanted to believe. He couldn’t argue his way out of this one, even though the boy was wildly off-base with his assumption. He didn’t know how to best explain to his fellow council member that his reason for being in a good mood was not from asking out Tohru, but rather from knowing that he’d get to spend the afternoon with her. It wasn’t quite the same thing that Kakeru was expecting, but it could easily be interpreted as a date by someone as imaginative as him.

“Just finish up your rounds, please,” Yuki said.

As his partner chuckled, they finished up doing their rounds of the school and looped back around to the student council’s office to clean up and lock up. After that was completed, the group said good-bye, and Yuki let out a sigh of relief as he headed towards the school gate. Home was just a short walk away, and then he’d be able to spend his afternoon with Tohru in the garden. It was a beautiful day to be outside, too. He drew in a deep breath of the fresh air and turned the corner onto the main sidewalk. He stopped in his tracks when he saw Tohru waiting for him, leaning up against the gate.

“Oh! There you are, Sohma!” she said, flashing him another bright smile. “How was it today? Did anyone give you a hard time?”

He blinked at her, surprised to see her there. School had ended a few hours ago, so she shouldn’t have still been hovering around. She wasn’t a member of any clubs. By now, she should have been at home, doing homework or cooking like she always did. The fact that she was standing here, still in her school clothes and with her bag, told him that she must have waited this whole time for him to finish with his duties.

“Honda…how long have you been standing here?” he asked.

She hummed.

“I haven’t really looked at the time,” she said, laughing. “I just thought I’d wait here for you to be done and then walk back home with you.”

Once again, her pure-hearted actions made his chest bubble up with laughter. He shook his head. He would likely never come to understand what kind of heart one had to possess to be as kind as Tohru. All he could do was smile back at her and hope that someday, he could radiate that same kind of kindness back to her. He nodded his head at her.

“I appreciate it,” he said. “But weren’t you bored out here?”

She shook her head adamantly.

“Not at all!” she said. “I watched so many interesting people pass by. A few people did stop to ask why I was just standing here. I told them I was waiting for my friend on the student council. But mostly, I was thinking about how radishes will look as they grow.”

He chuckled and started walking towards the house. She trailed along beside him, telling him all about how she imagined radishes to look as they grew. It was clear that she knew very little about them as plants, but her enthusiasm was so adorable that he couldn’t bear to stop her. She went on about how the radishes might hang down from the stems, and eventually he found himself chuckling quietly to himself. He didn’t want to break her heart, but she would need to know that radishes were roots. She’d be disappointed if he never told her and then one day just yanked them up out of the ground suddenly.

“Honda, you know that a radish is a root, right?” he said.

She blinked up at him as they climbed the stairs.

“A root?” she repeated.

Yuki nodded.

“They grow underground like carrots and potatoes and daikon and ginger,” he said. “Then, when you’re ready to harvest them, you pull them up out of the ground in bunches.”

Her eyes lit up with realization.

“So…they don’t hang off of the stems, then?” she asked, sighing.

He laughed and shook his head.

“No, I’m afraid not,” he said. “But I must admit that I don’t know what the plant above the ground looks like. It’ll be fun to see that, won’t it?”

She perked back up immediately and nodded her head enthusiastically.

“I can’t wait to see what it looks like, either!” she said. “Do you think it will have flowers? I know cucumbers do!”

He couldn’t have asked for a more perfect conversation. Her innocence and curiosity combined to make her a most pleasant conversation partner. They set their school bags down in the front of the house, then they grabbed a few things from Yuki’s room, and then they headed over to the small garden he kept near the house. As the year was just warming up, nothing had bloomed yet. They first took care of watering the other plants and seeds before they sat down to start making an area for the radish seed pods to go.

“Now, we want to make sure the dirt is good and tilled,” Yuki said. “Plants like soft dirt. So, we need to break it up and make sure its nice and soft. This also ensures that the plant will get the proper nutrients that it needs in order to survive.”

Tohru nodded, humming as she did so. Yuki did his best not to chuckle again. He wondered if she noticed how often she made him laugh. The way she put in her all no matter what she was doing or whether or not she was capable made her feel both carefree and foolish at times, but if he stopped and thought about it, he envied that about her. She saw nothing as unworthy of her time, even if she was unsuccessful. He watched as she matched his actions and turned up the fresh dirt to till a nice little spot. She had the biggest smile on her face, as if simply doing something with someone else filled her with the utmost joy.

He next took out a trowel and started to dig out the holes for the seeds. Tohru leaned over excitedly as she watched him. It was nothing special that he was doing, but the way she sat there, with her eyes glittering with excitement and her mood as chipper as ever, he felt like he was performing the most fascinating job in the world. The way her enthusiasm filled his chest with warmth still baffled him now, but he accepted it without question. There would be no sense in asking her why this was so engaging for her. So long as he could be here and share a special moment with her, he was happy.

Yuki opened up the packet of seeds and poured them out gently into Tohru’s hands. She marveled over how the seed pods looked, clearly fascinated by this new thing. He’d seen them before in gardening magazines that he’d flipped through at the store, but it was a first for him to see them in person as well. He couldn’t say that he was as excited as she was, though. Her excitement far surpassed his no matter what the occasion.

“May I put them in their places?” she asked.

Nodding his head, Yuki sat back away from the holes they’d dug. She excitedly dropped one seed pod into each hole. He went behind her and carefully covered them up. As soon as they were both done, he picked up the watering can and gave them a healthy dose of irrigation. Tohru stepped back and clasped her hands over her chest.

“They’re going to be lovely, aren’t they, Sohma?” she said.

Laughing, he set down the water can.

“They certainly will,” he said.

As he watched her, smiling and gazing down at their work, he still couldn’t figure out where her positivity came from. It was perhaps something so deeply ingrained in her being that it couldn’t be undone, no matter what happened to her. He smiled and shook his head. Some things just couldn’t be answered easily, he supposed.

Like the reason radishes grew underground and unconditionally kind hearts.


End file.
